Pakim Pond Loop Trail (Mount Misery Trail) is a 13.5 mile moderately trafficked loop trail located near Chatsworth, New Jersey that features a lake and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
If you would like to receive a hard copy of the Pinelands National Reserve brochure, please send a self addressed stamped letter size envelope to: Pinelands Commission Attention: PNR brochure PO Box 359 New Lisbon, NJ 08064 [source: NJ.gov Pinelands]
From the NJ Turnpike, take exit 7 and follow Route 206 south to Route 38 east, to second traffic light, then turn onto Magnolia Road (Route 644). Follow Magnolia Road until you come to the Four-Mile Circle. From the circle take Route 72 east, at mile marker 1 make a left. There is a forest entrance sign on your left as you turn in. Take the first right and the office is on the left. [source: NJ.gov Byrne] The Park is situated between routes 70 and 72 by the Four Mile Circle.
January 10, 2021January 3, 2021The trail was relatively easy . I found it very easy to hike the 7.5 miles.
November 29, 2020The trail in the app is not accurate, at all. It either takes you well off-trail or onto marked private property. I did a good bit of exploring and stuck to the roads when I came across two sets of large, fresh bear feces. Beautiful around the water but far too much road walking on the loop for me. Rated moderate due to distance and bog trails that require a bit of sloshing through. Very few elevation changes.
November 28, 2020nice ride, good flow and pretty scenery. a lot like the white trail at wells mills only bigger and faster.
November 18, 2020November 2, 2020October 19, 2020October 14, 2020September 27, 2020August 23, 2020Super easy well-marked trail. Very peaceful and quiet if you go early enough in the morning.
August 23, 2020Not hard at all. Relatively flat. Several downed trees along the pink trail. Went on a humid day, so it was buggy. Also it was obvious the trail hasn’t been hiked in a while as there were lots of spider webs crossing the trail. Was a nice walk.
August 8, 2020dense brush but nice views of the lake
August 2, 2020Pros: Beautiful views of the pines. My favorite part was the view of the cranberry bog on the second half of the trip. Very well marked trail and easy to follow. Very few people - perfect for social distancing. Little change in elevation, so that made the long distance hike possible. Cons: Path can be very narrow at times and you should break up spider webs in front of you as you walk with a stick.
July 24, 2020More shade than most pine barrens trails which was nice. Version I did was only six miles, good variety of pines and cedar swamps and definitely saw some good flora. Pond was lovely especially at sunset (and walking through the pines at night was a good horror movie experience haha!). Trail blazes are very spread out though so it is not always clear whether or not you’re on the right path. Overall a good hike through the Pines just make sure to prepare (and definitely the best in BTB state forest).
July 18, 2020good ride, but poorly marked. i had to stop often to check the trail map.
July 16, 2020Mountain Bike: much of the trail was overgrown... so that made it tricky to maneuver bicycles. However, we made it work fine. the mapped portion uses several different trail markers and gps is not terrific in the area, so make sure you bring plenty of water to get lost a few times. Great place to get outdoors. if hiking, when you get near to ponds, there are plenty of horse flies, so make sure to have your deet.
May 21, 2020Lite little ripper. Got a flat. Some of the trials were over grown much better in the fall I would say
March 27, 2020September 29, 2019There are 2 trails, 1 paved, the orange trail, and 1 dirt, the green trail. Missed the markings at the turn just before rt 72, but got back on the road further down. Beautiful ride, some major pot hole dodging, but will go again! Also using the map direction took us to Cooper Rd... Don't go there... It's Buzzard something Road...
August 29, 2019The trail has pleasant lakeside views for about a quarter of a mile. Trail crosses the main road and can be hard to follow at times.
June 8, 2019Typical pine barrens hike.. so-so. Had to take asphalt roads several times to get back on track. ALSO, beware of hunter trails- they lead nowhere and had to double back adding miles to hike.
May 27, 2019Very well maintained trail. Directions sometimes not so well indicated. Easy walk though long, we had almost 15 miles with small error half way. It took us 4 hours to complete.
February 21, 2019great pine baron hike
February 20, 2019Went counterclockwise from Pakim Pond parking Lot. Trail was well marked. When the trail crossed a paved road there was spray painted information like arrows pointing to where the trail went back into the woods. There were also clear markers there also. We did not do the whole trail but walked down some roads to cut our hike shorter to 8.5 miles. We also ran into a river running across the trail near the lakes on the western side so we turned back to Forest Road and then a left onto Coopers Road back to the parking lot. It had rained the night before, but this was the only place we ran into an impassable trail. The trail is typical Pine Baron scenery and topography (flat!), but it was nice and quiet. There is a beautiful stand of Cedar trees on Buttreworth Road which is part of the trail, and a bathroom nearby at the crossroad, which I did not expect, nor need, but I peeled inside and it was clean.
January 26, 2019Great pine barren hike, it was a wet hike but we could have taken the green trail around but we didn’t.
June 7, 2018My favorite, so many memories walking the trails and camping. Love this forest
January 27, 2018Great trail, a few areas need better blazes but a good January walk in the woods !!
September 24, 2017Nice trail but it’s poorly marked and in some areas poorly maintained you just have to pay attention on the loop back towards Pakim pond very nice elevation changes though
November 21, 2016better than pavement....
May 10, 2015Kinda boring. All flat and not much to see. Enjoyed the pond
